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Role Players 2020


Richard Chivaka

Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Spark Health Africa

Dr. Richard Chivaka is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Spark Health Africa. He is an Associate Professor of Business Strategy & Supply Chain Management at the University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business. Dr Chivaka has led the health systems strengthening work of Spark Health Africa in Lesotho, South Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. He is the inaugral Research Scholar and a visiting Professor of the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED), Stanford University, USA. Dr Chivaka is a passionate and highly skilled professional who thrives in building responsive, country-centered, and innovative change programs to accelerate public health and economic development. He has multi-country expertise in strengthening healthcare organizations, designing and building teams, and programs across diverse stakeholders. Possess extensive expertise in serving as a bridge between business, health, and governments in the African contexts to achieve a shared vision. He brings unique ability to pair these skills and competencies with robust and responsive execution in order to deliver sustained results in dynamic and high stakes environments. Dr Chivaka demonstrates vision and leadership in realizing impact across organizational, institutional, national and regional levels in both public-sector healthcare and private sector organizations. He thrives in both self-managed and team-based environments. He is inspired by a deep personal commitment to transforming future generations, underpinned by a 'can-do attitude', and a love for the communities for whom he works. Dr Chivaka strongly believes that improving the welfare of Africans, providing better economic opportunities and promoting social cohesion requires among other strategies, enhancing the competitiveness of businesses on the one hand, and improving public healthcare service delivery, on the other.